Tour operators believe
visa cancellation to the administrative region of China,
Macao, didn’t influence the tourist flow from Russia.
The agreement shall enter into force on September, 30. Terms of the agreement
spread on tourist and business trips which last not more than a month. At the
same time, citizens of the Chinese autonomy who desire to visit our country
will can cross the border without visa.
Over 16 thousand
Russians visited Macao
last year. Earlier China
expected visa cancellation to spur Russian air lines (including those of
Siberia and the Far East) to launch direct
flights. Nowadays, most tourists travel to Macao through Hong Long.
“I doubt the visa
cancellation will seriously influence the demand. It was always very easy to
get on the territory oа
the autonomy – one could get visa upon arrival and it cost about 30$”, - notes
Sergey Solovyev, the head of the Department of China and South-East Asia of
DSBW Company.
Tatyana Dashkova, the
head of the field-specific department of the Russian Express Company, agrees
with her colleague. “Macao
is not the type of the resort where Russians stay for long time. As a rule,
this destination is combined with Hong Kong?, - explained the interlocutor of
RATA-news. According to Mrs. Dashkova, tourists normally visit the Chinese
autonomy with a day-excursion. Rarely they stay for one or two nights as local
hotels are rather expensive – from 200$ per night. And more often stay those
who want to play in local casinos. 30 gambling centers operate in Macao; the largest one
is rated for 15 thousand people.
Being situated on the
cost of the South China Sea, Macao is
considered to be relatively young region of China. It was formed in 1999 as a
result of liquidation of the same-name Portuguese colony. At the same time Macao is the oldest
European colony leading its history from 1557.
